While tons of people are excited about the trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, one isn’t very happy about who it showed in the game. The infamous Florida Joker has demanded that Rockstar Games pay him $2 million for the use of his likeness in the GTA 6 trailer.
Lawrence Sullivan, a former tattoo model known online as the Florida Joker, recently posted a video on his TikTok page calling out Rockstar. “We gotta talk GTA… or not, you have to give me a mill or two… Y’all took my likeness. Y’all took my life.” Other TikTok users in the comments of the short video had mixed reactions, with some poking fun at Lawrence and others encouraging him to sue Rockstar.
The reveal trailer for GTA 6 showed that a lot of inspiration for Vice City, the setting of the game, came from the real-life state of Florida. Many viewers were able to point out a number of references that parody many viral videos and jokes that were related to the state. Some of the biggest included nods to the meme Florida man, a woman twerking atop a moving car, and the mug-shot of the Florida Joker.
Since the video from Lawrence was posted on TikTok, Red Dead Redemption 2 voice actor Roger Clark responded to it. He was quick to point out that Rockstar has been parodying well-known events and figures for a long time, and that it was pointless to attempt any legal action against them. Roger famously lent his voice to portray the character of Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2.
On social media, Twitter users asked lawyer Robert Freund for a legal opinion about Lawrence’s recent video. He stated that there is a very low possibility that Lawrence would see any kind of payout from Rockstar, citing the same action that actress Lindsay Lohan tried to do against Rockstar for GTA V back in 2014 for supposedly using her likeness in the game.
Despite the humor the video from Lawrence has brought to many over social media, it doesn’t seem like any legal action has been taken since. Rockstar has not commented on the matter since Lawrence posted his original video.
